1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to magnetic recording apparatus and more specifically to a magnetic head suspension and follower assembly for use in reading information from and recording information on photographic film during photofinishing operations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Manufacturers of photographic filmstrips have placed magnetically coded information along one or more of the edges of the filmstrip at a specified distance from the edges of the filmstrip to supply information about the filmstrip to devices contained within photographic printers. The devices use the coded information to produce better quality prints.
The width of the filmstrip changes as the filmstrip ages and as the filmstrip is processed. Various filmstrip manufacturers have different manufacturing tolerances causing the filmstrip to have various widths. Thus one of the difficulties of the prior art was locating the position of the filmstrip magnetic tracks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,933 entitled "Magnetic Head Suspension Apparatus" which was assigned to Eastman Kodak Company and U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,836 entitled "Magnetic Head Suspension Apparatus For Use With A Photographic Film", which was assigned to Eastman Kodak Company, disclose apparatus for supporting magnetic heads for reading and/or recording information on a magnetic surface of a filmstrip during photofinishing. Information to be read includes information that may have been recorded during film manufacture relating to film speed, emulsion type, etc., and information recorded by the camera relating to exposure and lighting conditions, etc.
With respect to information recorded with a predetermined orientation to the filmstrip edge such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,940 entitled "Camera Apparatus For Magnetically Recording On Film", which was assigned to Eastman Kodak Company, it is desirable to read the information with a head similarly oriented with respect to the filmstrip edge during photofinishing to accurately read the recorded information. Also, it is desirable for the photofinisher to record information oriented with respect to the film edge and later read such information by means of a head oriented similar to the recording head.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,028,940 and 5,034,836, disclose apparatus for supporting magnetic heads with the same orientation relative to the film edge. While the apparatus disclosed is capable of producing highly accurate results, it is mechanically complex and costly to manufacture.